Comments

Your feedback is important to us!

We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article.

Disclaimer: Comments submitted by third parties on this site are the sole responsibility of the individual(s) whose content is submitted. The Daily Star accepts no responsibility for the content of comment(s), including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. Please note that your email address will NOT appear on the site.

Alert: If you are facing problems with posting comments, please note that you must verify your email with Disqus prior to posting a comment. follow this link to make sure your account meets the requirements. (http://bit.ly/vDisqus)

During a lull in bombardment after yet another failed cease-fire, Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, the only Lebanon-affiliated doctor volunteering in Gaza, reflected on the aspects of the crisis that had eluded his medical forethought.

The lack of access, especially from the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border point is also affecting efforts to mobilize relief for Gazans in Lebanon, as medical volunteers and humanitarian convoys await Egyptian authorization to cross.

Some Lebanese aid workers said they believe only political maneuvering on the part of the government would see the aid delivered to the Palestinians who need it.

Organizations like Lebanon's National Initiative Committee to Break the Siege in Gaza have recruited dozens of doctors and amassed a warehouse full of medicines to ease shortages in Gaza hospitals, but to date not a pill or a Lebanese health professional has stepped foot in the tiny battered territory.

Lebanese organizations working toward humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza maintain close contacts with grassroots organizations to assess needs in the territory, typically medical and financial.

Among them is Dr. Ghassan Jaafar, who has been to Gaza twice as the head of a Lebanese delegation in June and December of 2010 .